Shots of Sunshine
by SoapTurtles
Summary: Stuff Silver Queen's Dreaming of Sunshine inspired me to write.
1. HikaruNoGo (1)

**HikaruNoGo x DOS (** **1/?)**

...

She threw up her hands in frustration.

Actually, she tried to do a table flip with the go board, but she was immaterial, so it just looked like she was throwing up her hands.

Kyou was taking _forever_ to count the _moku_ because he wouldn't take her word for it. She understood, of course. This was going to be his first win against her, and he was going to make sure it was a win and he was going to revel in it.

"Four _moku,_ and that's not even counting the _komi_ ," Kyou said, trying to hide his growing smile and failing.

Shikako pretended to sulk. "Proud of yourself, aren't you?"

"Maybe. Can you stop with the _shidougo_ now? I think I've had enough teaching games."

She wasn't _that_ obvious. Was she? She must be slipping. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Her twin's reincarnation rolled his eyes. "I may not be a genius like your Shikamaru, but I'm not an idiot."

"You are as smart as him. You're just younger, less experienced. Now, go get the shogi board. I'm tired of go."

He glared at her stubbornly.

"C'mon. Let's play a game. Or we could recreate one of the matches I had with Shika and you can help me figure out how I could've won."

It was their deal. She'd teach him all she knew about go, and he would play shogi with her, because although Kyou wasn't really Shikamaru, and although he was still young, Shikako still took great satisfaction in beating him. Being a ghost was pretty boring sometimes.

Kyou sighed before reaching for the shogi board and the notebook filled with the games she'd lost to Shikamaru. It'd been busy for Kyou to transcribe. "Alright, but you will stop with the teaching games."

Shikako wanted to laugh, but that wouldn't do any good for the kid's self-confidence. She wasn't the greatest go player, but she was good enough to go toe to toe with Shikamaru when they played. Good enough that he had to work for his wins, but not enough to win many of their games. Her twin trumped her more often than not, but they were still good games.

And Shikamaru still preferred shogi to go.

Probably because both their father and Asuma had played it with him before their deaths, but not go. She and her brother had discovered the game in the middle of the war on the front lines, not leisurely in the quiet peace of their home with the scent of their father's sake, the sound of their mother's voice and the forest surrounding them.

Komatsu Kyou was as good at shogi and go as Shikamaru was, but he preferred go.

"They remind me of stars," he'd admitted bashfully, his ears going red at the admission.

Shikamaru liked watching clouds and playing shogi.

Kyou liked watching stars and playing go.

Shikako just smiled. Her big brother was a dork no matter who or wen he was reborn. A lazy dork who liked old man games. It was nice to know some things never changed.

"You remembered a couple months ago when I disappeared for a bit?"

He took her rook, just as she did when she played against Shikamaru a world and a lifetime ago. So far, no deviations from the original game, but if the determination in his eyes were any indication, he wasn't going to fall the script.

"Yeah. You got mad because I didn't want to play shogi."

"No, I left to look for something more interesting to do than watch you avoid studying for an exam." _And because you didn't want to play shogi._ "I found an interesting little place where people could play against each other for fun."

He _hmm'_ d and considered his next move and the next two after it. He even made the same hand sign Shikamaru did to focus his thoughts.

"Are you listening?"

He nodded once absently. His eyes never left the board. "You went and spied on a bunch of old people playing shogi and go. Got it."

She rolled her eyes. "They weren't _all_ old. There was a kid there."

"You spied on a bunch of old people and a _kid_ ," he amended.

Subtlety wasn't working. "It was just go, actually. And the kid was pretty good."

He grunted, sacrificing his last lance, and she pointed to where she wanted her gold general to go.

He raised an eyebrow. "Strong as you, or stronger?"

She shrugged. How would she know? She'd never played the boy she saw, so she couldn't be sure of his skill. But the boy was playing teaching games against men three or four times his age, so he _must_ be good. And then there was the lady teasing him about his skill. "He's about your age, I think, and he's suppose to be as skilled as professional."

He looked up.

 _Hook..._

"But, in comparison to you, how skilled is he?"

 _Line..._

Because she had no reason to lie, she told him the truth. "Honestly, I have no idea. Back when we- Shikamaru and I- used to play, it was only for fun or to teach strategy. Mostly between each other and our father. Sometimes our friends. We never went to the capital to play against the professionals."

Ino _had_ suggested it some years after the war ended, but shogi had never been her passion, and Shikamaru had said it was too troublesome. He preferred spending time with Temari and their son, not surrounded by a bunch of old geezers. He liked shogi, but liked his son a lot more. And with Naruto as the newly minted Hokage, someone had to be around to make sure he didn't make his Ramen Day Festival dream a reality, and make sure Shikako didn't go poking at things she really shouldn't.

"The ranking system for go and shogi players are different here than in the capital back then, so," she shrugged. "Go check it out. Tell me what you think."

He glared at her. "I know what you're doing."

 _And there went_ sinker _._

"What am I doing?"

"It's the incentive thing you were talking about before. You want to give me a taste of how good others are so I would go chasing after them and become a pro. You're trying to _motivate_ me."

"And is it working?"

"No. It's not working. And it's not going to."

Shikako sighed. Shikamaru at ten wasn't as petulant and pigheaded as Kyou was. Mostly just sluggish and lackadaisical. At this rate, Kyou was going to stubborn himself into doing nothing for the rest of his life except for trying to win more games against her.

The boy needed friends and needed to get out of this room.

 _This is for your won good, Shikamaru-Kyou. You will find yourself a rival and friend or I will have to resort to extreme measures,_ she all but said with her glare.

Kyou stared back, his expression carefully blank, but his eyes narrowed, undaunted.

Stubborn or no, Shikako was a motivated Nara and she was going to make Kyou one too.

The big shuriken was coming out.

...

 **A/N:** Shikamaru was reborn into HikaruNoGo-verse, and Shikako follows, but as a ghost because... reasons.

None of this was suppose to be published, but then I asked myself why the heck I wrote this if no one was going to read it, said 'fuck it' and published it before my anxiety could get the better of me.

 **Edit 8/11/16:** Words were missing. Fixed it. I hope.


	2. LawOfUeki (1)

**LawOfUeki x DOS (1/?)**

...

Aina wasn't sure what she was thinking.

The girl looked like such a sweet child.

Pretty, cute, a bit baby-faced, but that was to be expected from human children, as far as she knew. The girl was wearing a pretty little dress with a mandarin collar and meticulously embroidered accents on smooth silk that screamed wealth. A little sheltered rich girl who probably thought the world was all sunshine and bubblegum. Her hair was in an adorable bun and a dainty jeweled butterfly clip kept her fringe from falling over her big sparkly eyes.

This was the kind of child who could melt even the iciest of hearts, the type of child even Aina, with all her disgust of snot-nosed brats, couldn't help but want to indulge.

The girl looked like such a good child.

Aina saw it in the way the girl obeyed her parents' commands to sit and stay like a trained dog while they went milling around and socializing with business associates and the like. The girl didn't look put out, or even pouted. She'd just nodded and smiled and sat quietly for the next two hours with a stillness that Aina never thought a child was capable of. Definitely a little girl who was eager to please.

The kind, Aina thought, who would be _perfect_ to help make Aina the next God.

 _Someone_ had to make sure the next God wasn't another lecherous idiot, and that person was Aina. And this little girl was going to help her, she decided.

"Now? Do I need to think of one now?" the little girl, with honestly the biggest, roundest doe eyes Aina had ever seen, asked persistently.

Aina, who'd been scrolling through her PDA, confirming the little girl had enough Talents to last, nodded absently and waved her hand dismissively. She hadn't even been listening. She should've been. Because a split second later, the girl spat out a power and Aina granted it without even thinking.

She blamed it on the PDA. Emails were piling up. And Aina blamed it on her apparent misunderstanding of the girl, because she'd been expecting a power like, turn things into cake, or turn animals into her friends (now _that_ was a scary power; turn animals into friends? What if it was turn _everyone_ into her friends? Aina didn't want to think about the possible backlash a power like that would have, if it even had one).

She should've been paying more attention. She should've observed the little girl a while longer, because Aina was wrong. Completely and absolutely _wrong!_ She couldn't even put to words how wrong she was!

The sweet little girl wasn't sweet at all.

She was a scary little monster who'd wished for the power to _make words explode_.

What kind of sweet child asked for such an ability?

Aina flinched and cringed as the word _recycle_ on the garbage can beside her went _kaboom!_ The scent of burning paper and melted plastic wafted through the air. The paper inside were suddenly in the wind, singed and glowing with flickering fires, and there was a hole in the melted plastic where the word was just a moment ago.

Oh God. The power was a deadly one. Shit, shit, shitshitshit _shitshitshit-_

The little girl (what the heck was her name, anyway?) giggled as she sprinted off to God knows where to blast more things to pieces.

 _Ugh_.

Aina exhaled. Inhaled. She braced herself as she cautiously followed the girl overhead.

Except she couldn't find her. _Where was the little girl Aina had just given the ability to blow things up to?!_

A block away behind her, something went _kaboom!_ and Aina wanted to cower. _So. Much_. The property damage, thank God, that jerk, that lecher, that Aina didn't need to pay human property damage.

Another explosion two blocks away. Aina needed to find that girl _fast_. She ran towards the direction of the climbing smokestacks and prayed, _prayed_ to God, the damned pervert, that no one was hurt. The competition wasn't for another month! Aina didn't want to hurt her chances at become the next King (Queen?) of the Celestial World before it even began.

But, she thought, flinching when she heard another explosion a couple blocks in the opposite direction ( _how did that little monster get there?!)_ , at this rate, the girl was going to lose all her talents and disappear!

Aina could see it now. Little puny humans crying because they were just a tad bit too close to a word the adorable monster blew up, and on the little girl's file of Talents on Aina's PDA, every single icon _vanishing_ , and the little girl just _gone-_

Damn her. Damn herself for not doing more research and for not paying more attention, and damn that little trigger happy monster who shouldn't be _that_ fond of explosions!

She only gave the girl the power, what, ten minutes ago? And Aina was already beginning to doubt whether the damned Celestial World throne was worth the trouble.

 _"Where the heck are you, brat!?"_

Elsewhere, Shikako laughed, very glad that shinobi skills translated very well into this world, and started brainstorming of all the things she could do with the Blank Talent.

...

 **A/N:** Aina, written as 愛菜, meaning 'love' and 'vegetables'.

Perhaps she agreed to join the competition for the Blank Talent. Maybe the Talent to Stay Dead? The Talent to Stop Remembering Previous Lives? The Talent to Always Find Her Loved Ones? (How desperate and tired of being dying and being reborn would Shikako have to be to want talents like that? It's terrible that I could find angst potential here.)

Or maybe she just really missed being able to blow things up.

 **Edit 8/11/15:** Fixed spelling error I spotted.


	3. Bleach (1)

**Bleach x DOS (1/?)**

...

Every shinigami wielding their shikai all swore by the effectiveness of jinzen, also known as sword meditation. It was the best and _only_ way to communicate with one's sword spirit. Hisagi told her exactly that.

"I _know_. I've done it already. I've walked through the world in my mind. I've spoken with my sword spirit. Had long, _long_ talks with him. Even played like a hundred games of shogi against him!"

And she'd lost nearly every single one, apparently. Shikako had complained to him about her losses before.

Shuhei Hisagi crossed his arms and frowned at her, concerned by her terrible mood and unsure of what to say to console her.

"I know his name! But he just. Won't Do. _Anything_."

"Are you sure it's his true name? Some spirits are rather playful." Or tricky. Or spiteful. Unlike his sword who just wanted to cut everybody up.

The look she gave him said it was an obvious explanation and one she'd already considered and dismissed. _Do I look like an idiot?_ her glare asked him. "I know his name."

He sighed. "Okay. Did he give you a reason? Does he think you're not ready yet, or not worthy or something?" Those were the most common reasons why shinigami who'd made contact with their sword hadn't achieved shikai yet.

"He just doesn't _want_ to do anything!"

A sword spirit who didn't want to answer summons? Hisagi had an epiphany. It was such an _obvious_ answer. Why hadn't he thought of it sooner? "Release commands. That's it."

Shikako blinked. "What?"

He sighed again. "You late admission kids."

Actually, she was the _only_ late admission kid of her year. Anyone with as much volatile reiatsu she had couldn't be allowed to wander Rukongai without learning how to control it. It was like she was unconsciously reaching for something around her, unable to grip it, but kept on trying because it was... a habit? She was liable to kill someone like that. It was a wonder she hadn't already.

"It was covered two months before you showed up." He reached over his bookshelf and dug around the neatly lined books and stacked scrolls for what he was looking for. "Release commands. Here's the in-depth look on it, but what the R&D guys in the Twelfth Division are basically saying is that sometimes, you need more than a name. For some spirits, a release command is more of a formality. Like opening a dam and inviting sentient water to spill out. It's polite. Sort of. For others, it's an actual command."

The girl scowled but accepted the book like he knew she would. "So I need to figure out his release command. It can't be that easy. Can it?"

"For most people it's instinctual. Learn the name, know the command. For others, like you apparently, not so much." Hisagi shrugged before shooing her out. "Good luck, and don't forget about the homework due tomorrow."

He watched as she wandered off, eyes glued to the first page of the book and mumbling something about deer.

A couple days later, Hisagi was walking past one of the Academy's training grounds when he suddenly felt the air thicken with a familiar reiatsu, and noticed that the shadows around him darkened.

Then, he heard a shout.

 _"Get up and do something Shikamaru!"_

...

 **A/N:**...or something like that. Shikamaru, the laziest zanpakuto in existence, who may or may not actually be Shikamaru or just a manifestation of him in Shikako's head.

Hisagi Shuhei is, without a doubt, OOC, because I don't remember much about him at all, but I remember his sword.

 **Edit 8/11/16:** Fixed a couple mistakes.


	4. OuranHighschoolHostClub (1)

**OuranHighSchoolHostClub x DOS (1/?)**

...

 **Warning:** Shameless ShikakoxItachi reincarnation-fic into OHHC-verse because I can, it works with the crack-ish shit I pulled out of my brother's hat and has a workable ending I can write. Hopefully.

Also unBeta'd and probably not as well-thought out as I think it is.

 **Note:** This fic builds off of two other fics by Witchbreaker and Lady Hallen. Read them. Not only would this make slightly more sense, but their works are amazing.

...

After living three lives, Shikako had thought she'd seen Itachi at his prettiest.

In her first life, she remembered how Itachi was drawn in the manga. Tired and weary looking, a bit maniacal in one episode of the anime she saw, but attractive.

In her second life, while worrying about the fate of the world, she'd actually _met_ the man in question and had actually connected with him during the hours they spent preparing her to take down Danzo. Handsomer than the manga because she actually got to see him a handful of times and got to _know_ him.

In her third life, they were both reborn in a different world, in different bodies, but they were definitely the same people, if a bit lighter conscience-wise. He was still handsome, though in a different way than he had been previously (It was a completely biased opinion because she dated the man).

But now... He was just gorgeous.

" _Everyone_ in this world if good looking, but you... I didn't think you could look any better-"

"I am beginning to feel objectified," he mumbled, still a bit miffed because the first words that came out of her mouth when she first saw him was not _hello_ , but a surprised _you were reborn as a woman?_

Shikako ignored his objectification comment (in part because she had seen the advertising his family's company does, with the chocolate covered woman and the winking gentleman and was _still_ not pleased) and continued. "-because honestly, you could start wars with a face like yours. Like Helen of Troy. You could subdue Kurama even without the Sharingan. You could even bring Zeref's troops to their _knees_ if you'd been this pretty-"

"Shikako," Itachi said warningly.

"-and your lashes, how is it that they could be so _long?_ "

"My parents are attractive individuals."

Shikako snorted. "Attractive and leaders in the sweets making industry. Goddamn reincarnation lottery!"

Itachi had been more than just a little smug when he told her he grew up taste testing every new dessert and candy that his family's company created. His father, _new_ father wasn't called the Candy King without reason. Technically, he also made cakes and was a genius with chocolate, but Candy King had a better ring to it than Baking King or Chocolate King, in her humble opinion.

"Why do you think you're so pretty?" she wondered. "Besides the reincarnation and genetic lottery. It's not the wealth. Although, it could be a factor. Just about every wealthy person I've met so far are some degree of devastatingly attractive." She paused. "Or is it this world? Maybe this is a universe full of really handsome and beautiful people. Maybe it's a rule of this reality. Like the lack of magic. Or may, that's where the magic went!"

Of course, Itachi said not a word to interrupt her. Probably realized by now it was better for her to get it all out first. No one could ever accuse him of being an idiot or an inconsiderate boyfriend.

Shikako sighed when she was finished speculating. "It's not fair. Not fair at all." Because he was smart and handsome and grew up on cake and chocolate and his father was the renown Candy King and his lashes were longer than they had any right to be and she really, _really_ wished she still had her touch seals.

Not that she wanted to hurt anyone. She just really missed her chakra and fuinjutsu and magic. Being normal, even if uncommonly attractive, didn't sit right with her.

Itachi smiled. "Don't worry. You can stare at me as much as you want. "And I am not opposed to sharing dessert."

Magic and fuinjutsu would've been better, but for a consolation prize, it wasn't so bad.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you."

...

 **A/N:** TBC, at least three more if things go as planned.

I am more GaaraxShikako than ItachixShikako, but then I was going through the Itachi-appreciation side of tumblr and thought, there's no way he can get any prettier.

I'm trying to prove myself wrong.


	5. LawOfUeki (2)

**LawOfUeki x DOS (2/?)**

...

Susumu's plan was simple.

Find Brat that fit criteria. Convince Brat to represent him in the Tournament. Sit back and relax. Write acceptance speech. Reminder to sound somewhat humble, because people liked humble, and thank mother.

Susumu's Brat criteria was twofold.

Be smart. Be lazy.

Because lazy humans with functioning brains were the ones who wouldn't betray him (too much work _not_ to obey), who would complete tasks quickly and efficiently (anything to cut down the workload), and wouldn't fuck up the minute Susumu wasn't around to tell them which way was left.

He'd thought it out. Lazy was easy. Smart, not so much. Find a Brat who was smart, but not ambitious. Someone who'd listen to him and his orders. Someone Susumu could set his hopes on.

The boy who skipped class to nap in the field was that Brat.

While the other God candidates went looking for a puny human to represent them in busy and overpopulated Tokyo (seriously, don't humans get claustrophobic surrounded by so many of each other?), Susumu made a beeline for a little backwater town he'd come across two months ago when he'd stepped into the Human World to... _explore_.

Yeah. Let's go with that.

Just satisfying his curiosity and confirming once and for all whether the rumours regarding Humanity's general intelligence was below or above the Celestial Being Average (it wasn't cheating. It was reconnaissance, and it wasn't _his_ fault none of the other God Candidates had to brains to do a bit of it pre-Tournament).

Two months later, it was a _complete_ coincidence that Susumu came across the Brat, the one who had the worst grades but was seen reading texts far above his reading level and playing boring old man games with other boring old men. And beating them. Those were hallmarks of high intelligence, according to one Celestial Being's thesis.

All that was left for Susumu to do was convince the Brat to represent him.

Humans, as he understood, were simple minded but stubborn.

So he told him about the competition ("It'll be fun! You fight other unimpressive Brats for supremacy. To be _alpha_ -"), about the cool power Susumu could give him ("Anything. Anything at all. Another Candidate gave his Brat the power to turn towels into metal, or something as inane as that."). He even told the Brat _why_ Susumu chose him ("You got moxie, kid."), and what the Competition was for ("Winner becomes the next God. I want to be God. I really want be the next God. I'd make an awesome God.")

After the initial raised eyebrow and disbelief, the Brat's face went blank, he leaned back onto the grass, sighed and closed his eyes. If Susumu didn't better (and he did because he was a great and powerful Celestial Being with above average intelligence), he would've thought the boy had tuned him out.

Then the Brat opened his eyes and started asking him questions like, how many Candidates were there? Were there any restrictions to the powers he could ask for, or drawbacks? How does one win the Tournament? How is one disqualified? What rules were there? Would his life be in danger? Would others? Where would the fight take place? When? How? _Why?_

("It sounds like a rather roundabout way of choosing the next God. Why not just draw names out of a hat? It'd be less troublesome."

"See why I need to be the next God now? I'd _never_ think of something this convoluted.")

The Brat fit Susumu's requirements, all right. But the problem with 'smart' was that, from the heavily sugar-coated explanation and non-answers Susumu provided, the Brat had gleaned that the Tournament was essentially a dangerous, potentially life-threatening, and needlessly complicated method to pick the next God that depended heavily on the Human that was chosen to represent them. Like playing rock-paper-scissors by proxy while the proxies tried punching the daylights out of each other out.

Okay, so the Brat was cautious. Which was good. It only underlined Susumu's good thinking in picking such a bright Brat. Cautious meant less likely to lose Talents in careless fights, which would kick Susumu out of the running, deprive the Celestial World of his Godhood, and wouldn't _that_ be a travesty?

But the real problem, aside from Susumu's inability to trick, coerce or lure the Brat into entering quickly before he changed his mind, was his lack of motivation.

Susumu could see it. The Brat was intrigued by everything he'd told him about the Celestial World. But to learn more was to embroil himself in trouble.

Thankfully, Susumu was prepared. He told the Brat that winning meant Susumu would be the next God, and the Brat, just for entering and winning, would be awarded the _Talent of Blank_. It was a win-win for them both!

A slow blink. A slight tilt of the head. Minutely furrowed eyebrows and narrowed, questioning eyes.

The Brat was smart, lazy _and_ curious. Susumu knew he'd got him then, hook, line and sink, as those silly fishermen humans would say.

"Blank? What kind of talent is that?"

"Not a talent at all. _You_ fill in the blank. If you win, you get a talent of your choosing. Like, the talent to pick winning numbers if your dream is to be a billionaire."

The Brat seemed to consider this. Susumu _knew_ it'd be the money. Humans were obsessed with it. They were such a short-sighted species. Money. Bah! Dangle a couple gold coins in front of their faces and they'd salivate like dogs.

And that was the story of how Susumu found a Brat to represent him in the Tournament.

Susumu gave himself several pats on the back and a round of applause. Through Susumu's well thought out planning, he was going to be sitting in God's Throne and partying with hot Celestial babes in no time at all.

All that was left to do was wait, he thought when he left. The Brat had been playing around with that new power of his and had been given the plan Susumu had wrote out himself to memorize and follow. Susumu found the nearest bar ( _human_ bar, ick, but alcohol was alcohol, even if it was much, _much_ below his standards) to buy himself a round of drinks to celebrate his wisdom.

...

 **A/N:** Susumu. Meaning advance, make progress.

I'm not sure if I want Shikako and Shikamaru to meet because then I'd have to write their reunion and if you haven't already noticed, I suck with characterization. But I do have an idea. Probably not a good one.

Any ideas of what Talent DOS Shikamaru might want? And Shikako?

Also. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much of a jerk does Susumu sound like?

 **(On a side note:** I messed up the fic title. It was meant to be **Shots of Sunshine** but apparently my brain wasn't working properly at the time. Pfft. Took me long enough to notice. **)**


	6. OuranHighschoolHostClub (2)

**OuranHighSchoolHostClub x DOS (2/?)**

...

When Shikako finished identifying every flower petal and analyzing every speck of glitter that surrounded the group of very handsome students sitting some feet sitting some feet away from their table, she found Itachi glaring at them across from her.

There was no doubt in her mind that he was wishing he still had magical eyes that could set them on fire or worse.

Fortunately, Itachi couldn't actually maim anyone with his eyes alone because this world wasn't a magical one at all, unless the sparkles and flowers that appeared on and around a person was some sort of genjutsu ability only a handful of handsome people could use counted.

It was also unfortunate for the same reason, especially because the dubious genjutsu ability seemed to be reserved for males only.

Seriously. How did they do that? It was like Gai and his crashing waves and glorious sunsets that not even Kurenai, or any of the other highly skilled jonin, could confirm was a genjutsu or not.

It. Just. Was.

One of her original theories was the world's magic had all been directed into making every single person as attractive as humanly possible, and those who could conjure up flowers and sparkles had an excess of it for them to throw around.

But then Shikako had tossed that theory out the window because _Itachi_ couldn't even muster up a flower petal and he was already pretty enough to stun kidnappers long enough for his bodyguards to tackle.

God, she wished Tenten or Shikamaru was here with them. Unlike Itachi, they'd be very interested in figuring out the mystery of flowers and sparkles.

Shikako glanced back at her boyfriend, who was still glaring. Why couldn't he do that flower and sparkle thing? She wanted to see Itachi do the flower and sparkle thing.

"You know you can't set them on fire anymore, right?" _Them,_ being the Hitachiin Twins, Tamaki Suoh and Kyoya Ootari. Such sparkly, flowery people. Gai would've loved them. Springtime of Youth and all that.

"Can I not _hope_?" Or dream, or fantasize, he didn't say.

"What do you have against them anyway?" Besides the fact that the four of them was among the few who could use genjutsu and they, as far as she knew, couldn't. _Unfair_.

They were just a bunch of rick kids who were inordinately handsome and catered to the romantic fantasies of other rich kids. Not unlike the relationship between Itachi and herself, because wasn't that exactly what he was doing when he brought her cake everyday?

"Hm."

She sighed and left him to his glaring so she could push around the food on her plate.

Behind her, she heard the door open and another group of gossiping students poured in.

And then across from her, she noticed Itachi stilled, just a bit.

"Are you finished with lunch?" he asked stiffly.

"Oh, um, yeah. Remind me not to get this next time. It's as spicy as Lee's Curry of Life."

"It would be simpler if you brought your own lunch."

" _You_ don't bring your own lunch. None of the students here do. Besides. I don't seem to be able to cook in this reality."

Fact: she'd actually burned rice in the rice cooker she'd bought and everything else was either overseasoned or utterly tasteless. She didn't dare try to boil water. She didn't want to know what would happen if she turned on the burner.

"You are wealthy. Have your chef do it."

Sh cringed at the thought of it.

Servants waiting on hand and foot. Private chefs stolen from Michelin Star restaurants. A legion of armed and trained bodyguards waiting in the shadows. _Three_ chauffeurs.

She didn't know how it was so easy for Itachi to accept all the splendour and luxury. As far as she knew, the Uchiha compound was much like the Nara's. A large neighbourhood of families with the same name and some sort of relation. Wealth was spread around equally, though the head family got first dibs, and households were managed by the people living in it, not servants.

Unlike the Hyuuga compound, that really was more like a large communal mansion surrounded by smaller homes and where dinner was a clan event, served by servants.

Shikako just couldn't get over how weird it felt ordering someone around to do things for her. Like tie her shoes. Or sharpen a pencil. Or make her something to take to lunch at school that would probably turn out to be a six course meal.

"Maybe after I've tasted everything on the menu," she said as Itachi took her hand and pulled her along with him to return their plates. Most students didn't. There were maids for that, but it was faster to do it themselves.

And for some reason, Itachi was in need of speed. He was moving more urgently than usual. Usual for this reincarnation, anyway. Stealthily, too. Well, as stealthy as he could be. It wasn't possible to completely silence footsteps in this life, and like herself, Itachi had tried every skill he remembered from being a shinobi and a wizard to see how it transferred.

Most of it didn't, but they both agreed that different worlds had different rules and realities. Hence why a handful of people could go walking around covered in sparkles and flowers that weren't actually there.

She was _not_ envious _._

"What's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing at all."

If that wasn't a red flag and blaring siren, she didn't know what was. Itachi always answered her questions. Unless the answer would draw her into something potentially life threatening and dangerous (which they hadn't encountered in this life so far because there weren't a lot that could get past their little army of bodyguards).

All the more reason for her to know. They were filthy rich. A kidnapping, maybe? An evil uncle after their fortunes? She hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, but she supposed Itachi might've caught whatever she missed. She hoped the threat was at least something she could fight.

"Itachi, what-"

 _"Kouhai!"_ a sweet, bubbly voice exclaimed somewhere behind her. _"Jun-chan!"_

Shikako tripped, and would've fallen flat on her face had Itachi not caught her. He did it all in one swift, fluid motion as he walked that would've had her envying his natural grace if she wasn't still reeling from the stranger's audacity.

"Kouhai? _Jun-chan?_ " she repeated under her breath. Was she hearing things?

Itachi's new name was Junichi, but no one called him that. Not his parents, who weren't really around at all, or his servants, or his peers who were amazingly afraid of him despite how unintimidating his good looks made him. Not even she called him that, but it was because she only ever called him Itachi.

He shot her a look that clearly warned her not to say another word or else he was going to stop bringing her new cake to try out.

"Good afternoon, Haninozuka-senpai. Please excuse us," Itachi said over his shoulder. He never stopped. In fact, he was speeding up. Who could instill such a fear in a former S-rank wizard and shinobi?

An adorable blond skipping towards them carrying a pink stuffed rabbit in his arms, apparently. Mitsukuni Haninozuka.

This was Itachi's senpai? Wait, then he was also _her_ senpai. It meant there was actually someone she was taller than. Huzzah!

She remembered hearing about him. Haninozuka Mitsukuni, who had a sweet tooth unprecedented in his family of world famous martial artists. His sweet tooth was so powerful that in recent years, the Mitsukuni family had become one of Itachi's family's biggest customers and investors.

 _"Join us! Join us!"_

Creepy. Creepy and _scary_ , because if Itachi, who took to martial arts and kendo like a duck to water, was reacting to the short blond in such a way, he must be very dangerous.

"Itachi?"

"Don't make eye contact, Shikako," he warned her gravely. "It will be over soon."

Funny. It was almost the exact same words Kakashi-sensei had used to refer to Gai.

 _"Wait! Jun-chan! I have the club forms for you to fill out! Join us! We can eat cake together! And drink tea! And cake! I'll let you hold Usa-chan!"_

Shikako laughed. "It sounds like your kind of party. What club does he want you to join?"

Itachi mumbled something.

"What?"

"The Host Club."

Itachi said something about the discount Kyoya wanted him to give the club for the amount of cake that was consumed on a day to day basis, but Shikako wasn't listening.

Mitsukuni-senpai was a Host.

It explained the flowers that popped up around him when he spoke. And his eyes were sparkly too. Very sparkly. Seriously, _how_. And what would Itachi look like if-

Her brain just _stopped_ so that she could divert all energy to register the epiphany she'd just had.

 _What if-_

It made sense.

Shikako stopped and pulled him in another direction, down a hall and looked both ways before pushing him into the janitor's closet (it was a _huge_ closet) and slammed the door behind them both.

"Shikako, what-"

He looked so frazzled and bewildered. But he trusted her. He better after all the stuff they went through as wizards. But he _trusted_ her. A former missing-nin who was as paranoid as he was powerful, he _trusted_ her not to drag him into a closet to slit his throat or stab him in the back or throw him under a bus.

Itachi was going to hate her for this.

"I need you to join."

"What? No-"

"The _flowers_ , Itachi. And sparkles! For science! Think about it. _You could cast genjutsu again!_ "

"I don't want to cast _that_ kind of genjutsu!"

...

 **A/N:** Junichi is written as 順 一, meaning obedient and one. Jun, apparently, is a unisex name. Junko for girls.

Poor Jun-chan.

Finally got my laptop back. Huzzahh!

TBC.


	7. Bleach (2)

**Bleach x DOS (2/?)**

(People. This is the second update today to make up the lack of updates in Sept. Read the previous chapter for sparkles and flowers.)

...

When Shikako falls asleep that night, she doesn't wake up in a vastly foreign world like the shinigami guest speaker from the 10th Division said was wont to happen when a shinigami falls into their sword spirit's realm.

Instead, Shikako wakes up at home.

She knows where she is the moment she opens her eyes. The Nara Forest. She breathes in the earthy scents of dirt, vegetation and trees that mingles with the the sweet undertones of Hashirama trees that surround Konoha.

She could hear the distant rustling and steps of deer weaving between trees, the river some ways away, and the ground under her bare feet feels cool and moist.

Shikako is home.

Navigating through the forest, she arrives at the edge in no time at all, and beyond it is a grassy knoll and a familiar, _terribly_ familiar house.

As she steps onto the grass, she feels the sunlight warmed air, and when she looks up, a bright blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds that promised good weather tomorrow and the day after that, and the day after that, and forevermore.

She is home. Only, she i _sn't_.

But it is close enough.

If this is her zanpakuto's world, she wonders who her zanpakuto is. Heijomaru, or another deer summons, maybe. Or some other sort of anthropomorphic deer creature. Maybe an embodiment of shadows, or a representation of her fuinjutsu mastery? Or better yet, Shikabane-hime. Now _that_ would be interesting to see. What does a Corpse Princess even look like?

This should excite her. The manga was great. The plot was interesting. The characters had unique talents and abilities. And Shikako is going to possess one such strange but amazing power.

But instead, she just feels so _tired._ It's not just her overpacked schedule. Her exhaustion isn't just physical. Mentally, emotionally, she's just so _tired_.

And being reminded that she is home but not, helps nothing.

The field is empty, but the house, _her_ house- the one she grew up in with Shikamaru and mom and dad- The inside is glowing the same way she remembers it. She finds herself walking towards it without consciously commanding her feet to move, and it almost feels like she is truly home, like she is just returning from a long and taxing mission.

And when she is just about at the front door, she notices the smell of smoke. Not fire smoke. _Cigarette_ smoke-

Shikako breaks into a run and really, she shouldn't have been surprised by who she finds.

"Hello, Shika."

Her twin barely glances at her from the shogi board set up in front of him, but he waves her over. He is in the middle of a game, but there is no opponent sitting in the cushion across from him. It's not unusual. Sometimes he played games against himself, or recreated ones he'd lost to their father.

Quietly, she sits herself down on his left. She isn't sure of where she is now. Her sword spirit's realm? But then, why is Shika here? Is he her zanpakuto? A manifestation of all that she misses and lost? Maybe she's actually communing with the dead. Or worse, maybe this is just a dream.

Strange, but she doesn't really feel... anything. Her heart aches, but it always had been since she woke up to her new life. Something is wrong with her. She'd suspected it, and now she has confirmed it.

"Smoking isn't good for your health," she says, just for old time's sakes.

Shikamaru rolls his eyes and lets out a puff of smoke. "What's the worse it can do. Kill me?"

Shikako flinches. He _sounds_ like Shikamaru. He _acts_ like Shikamaru. But is he? A dream. Is it a dream? Does it matter? Does anything? "I'm sorry. You were suppose to live," she whispers, staring at her hands which are covered in scars. Not kunai inflicted, but ones from poorly executed kido spells and katana blades. Her hands does not look like her hands.

"Well, I'm dead now," he replies nonchalantly, with no malice in his tone at all. Like being dead didn't bother him at all. As if he didn't blame her.

He _should_ , oh he should.

This, she decides, is a lovely dream.

"You were suppose to live. You _should've._ In another world, you would've," she informs him, because even if this is not a dream (but what else can it be?), the information is useless. "In another world, you would've married Temari. You would've had a son. You would've-"

He shoots her a hard look, the same one she saw so much of during the Fourth Shinobi World War, the same look he had after dad said goodbye, the same look she couldn't meet because _she should've done more_.

"Would've what? Been _happy?_ "

Shikako looks away. "Yes."

A silence stretches between them, and Shikako wants so much to just go away. She doesn't have her shadow anymore. Hiding isn't an option anymore. She forces down her fight or flight response and reminds herself that this is a dream, and what are the chances that she will dream of something this appallingly wonderful again?

"You didn't fail, Kako," he says quietly.

She jerks her head back and stares at him incredulously.

"You _didn't_. I was happy." Shikamaru shakes his head in exasperation. "Everything you think I was suppose to have, everything you think I was suppose to be, you didn't include yourself in that _everything_ , did you."

"Because I wasn't suppose to exist-"

"In that _other_ world, maybe. But you did exist in our's. There could be a thousand different worlds. Maybe I lived to the ripe old age of a hundred in one, or died during the Kyuubi's rampage in another. But they don't matter, because those worlds aren't _our_ world, the one where _I_ lived, _you_ existed, and we were twins."

"Don't you care? If it weren't for me, if I hadn't been born and interfered-"

"Sure, maybe I'd still have two arms and that wife and kid you mentioned, but I can't miss what I never had, Kako. I had you, and I was happy. I was happy when we used to walk home together from the Academy, when you used to drag me along by the hand so I could cloud watch while we walked. I was happy when you started making up games that I could play without actually doing anything. I was happy when you destroyed that guy's career for insulting me. I was a bit pissed when you blackmailed me into a jonin promotion and when you kept on going on the most ridiculously dangerous missions, but I was happy then, too. I was even happy when you and Gaara started dating."

She frowned. "You _glared_ at him whenever you saw him, during _every single meeting_. It made trade negotiations and inter-village relations very, very hard."

"I had a job to do as your big brother. Besides, I was happy when I was glaring at him, too," he told her unrepentantly. "You know, for a genius, you're not very smart."

"I'm not a genius. Not a real one."

"Yeah, because any other shinobi would've figured out the Hiraishin seal, created your Touch Blast, storage seals, the Shadow Hand jutsu, and made that City of Pillars in-what was it, eight hours?" He rolled his eyes. "Shikako, you were trying to do the impossible. Mold the world into one you thought we'd all be happiest in. Not just because you're only _one_ person, but also because you weren't charged with ensuring everyone's future happiness. The pursuit of happiness is an individual thing. You've got to want it to have it, and it can't be handed to you on a silver platter by someone who thinks they know best, who thinks they've seen the best you can have-"

"I don't think that!" She didn't. She just wanted to ensure that everyone was _at least_ as happy as they were in the end of canon. She did not see the best everyone could have. Neji, after all, had died, and that wasn't what she considered a good fate for _anyone_. "I just wanted to make sure I didn't make your lives worse than it was suppose to be! I knew my existence and intervention could do a lot of good, but the _ripple effect_ , Shika. I could just as easily destroy so many lives! If I had slipped up, if I hadn't done this, if I had done that, I could've hurt a lot of people and destroyed so many futures. I just wanted to make sure that my existence wouldn't be that. I wanted to make sure I didn't make your lives worse!"

"Maybe, but it's rather presumptuous of you, don't you think? You, handing someone the future and happiness you think they deserve _at the very least_ , like they can't get it on their own. Did you think we were all incapable of finding it ourselves without your help?"

Presumptuous, he said. _Arrogant_ , he means. It's something that identifies _Danzo._ And... it also identifies her? She may not gloat over her victories like Danzo does, but arrogance, what is it but belief that one is more skilled, more important, more _knowledgeable_ than others?

Her breath catches, and suddenly it's like there are claws squeezing the air out of her lungs.

She isn't anything like Danzo. But that's a lie. Danzo, who thought he knew what was best. Danzo, who _became_ the shadows. Danzo, who wouldn't let anyone or anything stand in his way. It sounds like a great many people. (It sounds like her.)

All that separates herself from Danzo are her intentions and the lengths she _wouldn't_ go to. She wanted to make sure the consequences of her actions were all positive. And as for what she won't do, murder isn't something she has a problem with, and neither is manipulation, so maybe the difference is that while she can be cruel _and_ kind, Danzo is just cruel?

(Is this how Shikamaru thinks of her?)

"But," Shikamaru says sharply as he taps his cigarette against the rim of the ashtray. "Mainly, I think the main problem is that you still don't understand that _you_ exist in the world we lived in. All of your plans, what you thought the future should look like, did you even think about where you'd be? You mattered, Kako. You still do. Were _you_ happy living the life you'd lived?"

Was she _happy_? Of course she was. There is no question. "It was more than I could ever ask for."

"So you were happy. I was happy. We were all happy. You didn't fail your self-appointed mission to make us happy. Not me, not mom and dad, not Team 7, or Konoha or the world. You did your best, worked your hardest, and we were happy. You didn't fail. So stop blaming yourself."

Shikamaru grabs her hand and Shikako flinches because dad still died and worse, so did Shikamaru and he wasn't suppose to, and _how could she not have seen the similarities?!_

He doesn't let go. "You didn't fail," he says again.

Shikako bit her lip. "You shouldn't smoke," she tells him once more after another stretch of silence. "It irritates my eyes."

He twin smiles as he stabs his cigarette into the ashtray.

She'd made so many mistakes. If only she could have another chance. "Are you really Shika, or are you just my mind's creation of him? You."

"Does it matter?"

Shikako rubs her eye and shrugs. "It's a very nice dream, if, you know..."

"Don't know, and don't really care either. If I am real, then it's a little weird that I'm living in your head. If not, well, you have some serious psychological issues that I don't think even the entire Yamanaka clan could deal with." He pauses. "But, I do know things I'm pretty sure you don't know."

Laughter bubbles out of her. That is hardly proof, because there are likely a thousand and one things her subconscious knows that her consciousness doesn't want to consider. But Shikako is willing to pretend. It's a nice dream, after all, and she smiles. "I'm sure I don't want to know."

"Probably not," he replies with the same smile. Shikamaru nudges the king piece on his side of the shogi board back into it's square. "I want to finish the game."

And that is when Shikako realizes exactly what game he is in the middle of playing. The last game the both of them started before he was called away for a mission, then she was, and then life and the war got in the way, followed by death, and they never finished the game.

She grins as she shuffles over and makes herself comfortable on the cushion before immediately adding one of the generals she'd captured on her side of the board.

"You know, we _are_ going to have to talk about this new hell we've been thrown into," he says as he moves his lance out of a corner. "I was hoping for the Pure World. Playing shogi. Tuning out Ino. Napping. Not working or worrying about the fate of everything. In the Pure World. _Not_ wherever we are now."

"Hell? I think the Soul Society's rather nice."

He makes a face. "Bleach. What kind of name is that for a comic about sword wielding shinigami?"

"It's a _manga_ Shika. Get it right."

...

 **A/N:** (Wtf brain. It's suppose to be fluff. _FLUFF_. gawd.)

Whether Shikamaru the real deal, or not is really up to you. I'm not sure I will continue in that vein, but don't quote me.

What do you think about everything Shikamaru said? Accurate? Comforting? Right? Any ideas on what Division Shikako should join? Shikamaru probably wants her to apply to 12th, but we all know that ain't happening. Maybe.

 **lizyeh2000** asked if Shikamaru would make a bad zanpakuto (I think?). Shikamaru just needs some motivation. Like, a mad man, or several, trying to destroy Soul Society, and by extension, Shikako. Shikamaru is wary of this new world, and he is right to be. Shit's going to hit the fan, and this time multiple worlds are going to be at risk.

(Sorry about the time it took to reply. It didn't feel right answering a DOSxBleach question anywhere other than in a DOSxBleach chapter.)

 **You guys are awesome. No seriously. You lovely people deserve cupcakes and confetti and world peace.**

 **Thank you for reviewing and favouriting and following and reading all these little things.**


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